Systems and methods for providing sportsbook wagering and fantasy gaming applications

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods and apparatus for providing, operating, hosting and conducting a gaming application which uses selections by a participant in a fantasy gaming contest to identify the sportsbook proposition wagers most likely to be of interest to the participant and display the wagers to the participant through a user interface associated with the fantasy gaming contest user interface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/478,008 filed Mar. 28, 2017, the disclosure of whichis incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention generally relates to systems and methods of providing,hosting and conducting gaming, and in particular, the invention relatesto systems and methods for providing systems and methods that, amongother things, increase the appeal, utility and player interaction withboth fantasy sports and sports wagering gaming systems.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Fantasy sports league games enjoy wide popularity. Generally,participants or fantasy players select or draft currently activereal-life athletes to form fantasy teams. A participant's success orfailure in the game corresponds to the performance of the players inreal-life games. Owners of such fantasy teams compile win-loss recordsby competing against the other teams in the league, the winner beingdetermined by which team's players performed better the previous week.

Because a fantasy team's performance is directly attributable to theperformance of the real-life athletes on a participant's roster, earlysuccess or failure can be critical to enjoyment and/or participationthroughout the season. For example, if a participant chooses severalplayers who are performing poorly and as a result, the participant losesseveral fantasy games in a row, it could be statistically impossible orimprobable that the participant will win the overall season.

Daily fantasy sports contests have become a popular option forparticipants in fantasy sports. Daily fantasy sports are like anystandard points-based fantasy sports league, participants pick a team ofprofessional players and are awarded points based off the stats theplayers on their team have during the length of the contest. However,daily fantasy sports differs from season-long fantasy leagues at leastin the duration of the contest (that is, daily fantasy sports contestsare usually only one day long) and in the amount of participants (forexample, in many popular daily fantasy leagues formats, participants maycompete against hundreds of others). While participants of daily fantasysports contests consider and operate under the typical fantasy sportsmanagement principles, such as opportunity cost, consistency, gametheory, risk vs. reward balancing, etc., there is often a starkdifferences in the rate of success between casual participants and themore advanced participants.

There is concern that the issues discussed above, if not addressed, canresult in a loss of interest in both traditional fantasy sports leaguesand daily fantasy sports contests. This loss of interest would result inloss of advertising and participation fees. Accordingly, it would bedesirable for fantasy leagues to add features that would maintain andperhaps increase participants' interest in fantasy sports leagues of anykind.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is generally directed to systems, methods and apparatusfor providing, operating, hosting and conducting a gaming application inwhich participant interaction data, which may include data receivedpursuant to the participant's non-wagering activity, is used toidentify, offer, deliver or otherwise provide wagering opportunities oflikely interest to the participant based on the participant interactiondata. In some embodiments discussed herein, the interaction data relatesto selections of players for a fantasy gaming contest, but the activityand corresponding interaction data, may also relate to and includeinformation regarding any non-wagering activity, such as Internetsearching, e-sports and social gaming. Accordingly, the wageringopportunities of likely interest may relate to and include sportswagering, casino gaming, such as slots, blackjack, bingo and poker-basedgames, or any other wagering activity, such as lottery, peer-to-peerwagering or wagering on non-traditional matters, such as the winningpicture of the year or outcome of an election.

Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a gaming system,comprising: at least one processor; at least one input device; and atleast one memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least oneprocessor to operate with the at least one display device and theplurality of input devices to: a) receive user interaction dataassociated with a fantasy gaming contest, the user interaction dataincluded one or more selections for a fantasy team, wherein each of theone or more selections for a fantasy team includes a selection of aplayer performing as a member of a sports team in a sporting event; b)responsive to the receipt of user interaction data, compare theinteraction data with sportsbook wagering options, the sportsbookwagering options including proposition wagers, wherein the propositionwagers have outcomes depending on player and sports team performance insporting events; c) identify one or more proposition wagers involving aselected player or the sports team the player is a member of for displayon the display device; d) display on the display device the identifiedone or more proposition wagers; and e) generate a single electronicbetting slip for both the fantasy gaming contest and selected sportsbookwagering options responsive to the receipt of a selection of one of theone or more proposition wagers.

Some other embodiments of the invention are directed to a gaming system,comprising: at least one processor; at least one input device; and atleast one memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least oneprocessor to operate with the at least one display device and theplurality of input devices to: a) establish a user account with a creditbalance; b) receive user interaction data associated with a fantasygaming contest, the user interaction data included one or moreselections for a fantasy team, wherein each of the one or moreselections for a fantasy team includes a selection of a playerperforming as a member of a sports team in a sporting event; c)responsive to the receipt of user interaction data, compare theinteraction data with sportsbook wagering options, the sportsbookwagering options including proposition wagers, wherein the propositionwagers have outcomes depending on player and sports team performance insporting events; d) identify one or more proposition wagers involving aselected player or the sports team the player is a member of for displayon the display device; e) display on the display device the identifiedone or more proposition wagers; f) deduct an amount of credit from auser account responsive to the receipt of a selection of one of the oneor more proposition wagers; and g) award an amount of credit to the useraccount responsive to a winning outcome from the one or more propositionwagers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated as thesame becomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating components of a gamingsystem constructed and configured in accordance with some embodiments ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating an exemplaryembodiment of the gaming system of the invention; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of components of a deviceimplementing a gaming system constructed and configured in accordancewith some embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description provides systems and methods forimplementing features in gaming applications. The gaming applicationsmay be implemented in accordance or in conjunction with one or more of avariety of different types of software and hardware systems, such asthose described herein, including devices which may be speciallyconfigured for the provision of gaming applications, such as electronicplayer terminals, multiplayer platforms, electronic gaming machines, anddevices which are not specially configured for the provision of gamingapplications, such as a smartphone, that can be enabled as a platformthrough which such features of the invention can be made accessible.Embodiments of the invention therefore contemplate a variety ofdifferent devices.

In particular, certain devices of those discussed herein may include andbe implemented with special features and/or additional circuitry thatdifferentiates them from general-purpose computers (e.g., desktop PC'sand laptops). These devices, such as gaming terminals, are highlyregulated to ensure fairness and security, and may be operable todispense substantial monetary awards. Therefore, to satisfy security andregulatory requirements in a gaming environment, hardware and softwarearchitectures are implemented in such devices that differ significantlyfrom those of general-purpose computers. For example, an importantdifference between these regulated devices and common personal computersor smartphones is that these regulated devices must demonstratesufficient safeguards that prevent an operator or player frommanipulating hardware and software in a manner that gives them an unfairand some cases an illegal advantage. As such, these devices will have ameans to determine if the code it will execute is valid, and if the codeis not valid, the device will have a means to prevent the code frombeing executed. These regulated devices may also have uniquerequirements that differ from a personal computer or smartphone, such asperipheral security requirements not usually addressed by personalcomputers or smartphones. For instance, regulated devices may includeperipherals or modules and associated security features for handlingmoney transfer, such as card or bill validators, or securely accessingand governing player or user accounts for the purpose of crediting anddebiting participant account balances. While many personal computingdevices may be developed to facilitate device connectivity and devicecompatibility they do not address the emphasis placed on security in thegaming industry.

The foregoing notwithstanding, features of the invention may beimplemented on both regulated gaming devices and other devices which arenot specially configured for the provision of gaming. In instances wheresuch gaming device specific components are lacking, suitable measuresare taken to address similar issues, including issues of security andgame integrity, as well as issues relating to establishing secure playeror user accounts and handling monetary transfers despite any lack ofspecific device hardware for addressing such issues. The devices may beconfigured to communicate with one another and/or a central server,central controller or remote host through a data network, the datanetwork is a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN),internet or an intranet. In certain such embodiments, a mobileapplication is used or an internet browser of the device is usable toaccess an internet game page from any location where an internetconnection is available.

Accordingly, the term “gaming system” as used herein may refer to agroup of any one or more regulated devices and/or one or more deviceswhich are not specially configured for the provision of a gamingapplication of the invention, along with one or more central servers,central controllers, or remote hosts, and data networks as needed. Thus,a gaming system may more particularly include at least one processor andmemory or data storage device storing program code and instructionsexecutable by the at least one processor to control the gamingapplication provided via the gaming system. In some embodiments, part orall of the program code and/or the operating data is downloaded to theat least one memory of the gaming device through any suitable datanetwork described above (such as an internet or intranet).

In various embodiments, the gaming system includes one or more inputdevices. The input devices may include any suitable device that enablesan input signal to be produced and received by the at least oneprocessor of the gaming system. One input device of the gaming systemmay be a payment device or application configured to communicate withthe at least one processor of the gaming system to fund a player or useraccount which is capable of being accessed for the gaming application.In certain embodiments, the payment device includes one or more of abill acceptor into which paper money is inserted, a ticket acceptor intowhich a ticket or a voucher is inserted, a reader or a validator forcredit cards, debit cards, or credit slips into which a credit card,debit card, or credit slip is inserted to fund the gaming device, and aplayer identification card reader into which a player identificationcard is inserted to fund the gaming device. In some embodiments, thegaming system includes a payment application configured to receive fundsvia an electronic funds transfer, such as a transfer of funds from abank account, or other account configured for electronicallytransferring funds from a bank account, or through accepting ofcryptocurrency from an exchange thereof. It should be appreciated thatwhen the gaming system is funded, the at least one processor determinesthe amount of funds received and displays the corresponding amount on aplayer or user account credit display on a user interface or any othersuitable display on a display device associated with the gaming system,such as a touch-enabled display device of a smartphone.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a gaming system 100which generally includes a gaming application engine 102 incommunication with a fantasy sports gaming module 104 and a sportsbookgaming module 106. Gaming application engine 102 manages the overalloperation of the gaming system 100 and therefore includes the hardwareand software systems as discussed herein to provide the gamingapplication of the invention. Gaming application engine 102 furtherincludes an operating system 108 that controls and enables the displayof a user interface 110 on display devices, such as a participant'ssmartphone display or a gaming terminal. Fantasy sports gaming module104 manages and enables fantasy sports gaming, such as daily fantasysports leagues, through a fantasy sports gaming interface 112 relatingto the play of fantasy sports gaming. Sportsbook gaming module 106manages and enables real or virtual currency wagering on sports througha user interface 114. The wagers on sports may include any propositionwagers commonly available at a land-based or internet casino sportsbook,which are hereinafter collectively referred to as sportsbook wagering.Sportsbook gaming user interface 114 and fantasy sports gaming interface112 may be provided simultaneously or separately on user interface 110.

Gaming application engine 102 additionally monitors and stores userinteraction data via tracking module 116 which is couple with memory orenabled for exchanging information with a centralized server.Interaction data may include various audit logs and activity informationfor participants of the gaming application, such as any informationreceived through user interfaces 112 and 114 regarding fantasy gaming,such as the selection of players for a daily fantasy sports contest, andsportsbook wagering, such as the types of sports wagers placed.Predictive wagering module 118 also has access to the interaction datain tracking module 116 and is in communication with sports book gamingmodule 106 for purposes of identifying sportsbook wagering opportunitieswhich may be most suited or likely of interest to the user anddisplaying the identified opportunities through sportsbook userinterface 114. The identification by predictive wagering module 118 mayoccur in real time or be based on historical interaction data. Forexample, the sportsbook wagering opportunities may include wagers on aspecific player scoring first in a game responsive to the interactiondata including the player selected for fantasy gaming through fantasysports gaming interface 112, or one professional team winning againstanother responsive to one or more players from the team or the competingteam being selected for fantasy gaming. A wager may also be identifiedand displayed through sportsbook wagering interface 114 if the wager isdetermined by predictive wagering module 118 to be the same or of asimilar type as a previous wager placed through sportsbook wageringinterface 114. Predictive wagering module 118 may be in furthercommunication with a sportsbook module or engine containing informationregarding available proposition wagers or for generating propositionwagers based on interaction data received and stored in tracking module116.

It should be understood that each engine and module discussed herein mayinclude additional modules and engines depending on the embodiment ofthe invention. In accordance with some of these embodiments, fantasysports gaming module 104 contains the elements which manage the fantasyleague, including a registration module, league and team managementmodules, including draft and transaction modules and fantasy statisticsand scores modules. The registration module includes elements thatregister a player for a league, including the collection of personalinformation, as required by the operator of the game, and the necessaryinformation for regulatory compliance. The specified registration modulemay also contain the rules, regulations, terms and conditions for entryin to the fantasy sports league or contest provided by fantasy sportsgaming module 104. Additionally, this module may offer choices of leaguetype, including options such a rotisseries league, head to head orothers, as may be appropriate to the specific sport for which the leagueis being formed. In other embodiments, the gaming application engine 102may include an non-wagering module, such as an e-sports gaming module orsocial gaming module, and a wagering module, such as a casino gamingmodule (including but not limited to, live studio gaming or simulatedgames, with or without one or more random number generators andinstructions for random number generator driven games, such as bingo,slots, roulette, poker or blackjack), a horse-racing module or a lotterymodule, from which interaction data is received and analyzed by thepredictive wagering module 118, with both the wagering and non-wageringmodules being in communication with the gaming application engine 102and operating system 108 for displaying both non-wagering and wageringcontent through user interface 110.

Module 104 may also include a league and team management module forproviding such functions as league formation, player draft management,team roster management, player transactions (e.g. trades, placing orclaiming players on waivers), game schedule management, score keepingand/or team ranking based upon league rules.

Other aspects of the gaming application may also be included in gamingapplication engine 102, such as a transaction module for managing aparticipant or user account and the transfer of funds and use thereof ascredits for play of the fantasy gaming and sportsbook wagering throughmodules 104 and 106, respectively.

It should be understood that interaction data is received by anyparticipant interaction, such as by the participant selecting players tomake active, drafting players or trading players through accessing thefantasy gaming module 104 via fantasy gaming user interface 112. Thereceipt of interaction data by tracking module 116 may triggerpredictive module 118 to identify suitable sportsbook wagering optionsthrough communication with a sportsbook for subsequent display on thesportsbook user interface 114. Other activity, such as activity relatingto the fantasy sports gaming results, may trigger predictive module 118to identify suitable sportsbook wagering options. For example, asportsbook wagering option may be identified relating to a specificplayer on the participant's selected team responsive to the player orteam's performance, such as the player having a particularly highfantasy score or an uncharacteristically low fantasy score.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of a processor method 200 of operating the gaming system of the invention, which maybe represented by a set of instructions stored in one or more memoriesand executed by one or more processors which may be in communicationwith one or more random number generators.

As shown by block 202, participants enter into a fantasy contest bymaking selections of sports players for a fantasy contest through a userinterface, such as fantasy gaming interface 112 provided by fantasygaming module 104. This interaction data may be stored in memorymaintained by tracking module 116. As shown by block 204, theinteraction data relating to the player selections is compared withsportsbook wagering options to identify sportsbook wagering optionsdeemed to be most suitable. In some embodiments, the most suitablesportsbook wagering options comprise any proposition wagers involvingthe players selected for the fantasy contest or the sports teams theselected players are members of. A processing device, such as aprocessing device operating in association with predictive module 118,may identify sportsbook wagering options by comparing players selectedfor fantasy gaming, and/or their respective teams of such playersselected for fantasy gaming, with sportsbook wagering options thatinvolve such players and/or their teams. Predictive module 118 mayfurther filter or prioritize the sportsbook wagering options by variousmeans, such as by accessing identification data relating to theparticipant's historical sportsbook wagering selections or by providingthe wagering options with the highest potential payout.

As shown by block 206, the identified sportsbook wagering options arecommunicated to the participant, such as by displaying through asportsbook gaming user interface 114 provided by a sportsbook gamingmodule 106 on a smartphone display device or gaming terminal. In someembodiments, the sportsbook wagering options are communicated to theparticipant immediately after the gaming system of the invention hasreceived the participant's fantasy gaming player selections. In someembodiments, sportsbook wagering options, including in-game wageringopportunities may be communicated to the participant as the sportingevents occur. In some embodiments, the participant may have the optionto wager on any or all the wagering options in various monetaryincrements through the sportsbook gaming user interface 114, as well asconduct a search for additional wagering options through access tosportsbook gaming module 106. Any sportsbook wagering options selectedmay be stored as interaction data, such as by tracking module 116.

After sportsbook wagers are selected and wagering amounts are inputted,funds for the wagers and fantasy sports contest are either receivedthrough any of the methods and devices disclosed herein or credits arededucted from an established user account having funds stored therein ascredits, as shown by block 208. Any credit balance for a user account isdecreased accordingly. The credits or funds received may be for both thesportsbook wagering options selected and the entry fee (if any) for thefantasy sports gaming. Thus, method 200 enables a participant togenerate and receive a single betting slip or electronic receipt thatincludes both sportsbook wagering proposition bets and a fantasy sportsgaming contest entry. The outcomes from the fantasy sports gaming andthe sportsbook wagering are determined by a processing device as shownby block 210, which may be a processing device operating in associationwith either one or both of the fantasy sports module 104 and thesportsbook gaming module 106 of gaming application engine 102. Payouts,if appropriate, are awarded either as funds or by an increase of creditsto a participant's account as shown in block 212.

Any of a variety of processing apparatuses or gaming systems can hostvarious components of a gaming application of the invention. Inaccordance with embodiments of the invention, these gaming systems caninclude, but are not limited to, mobile devices such as a smartphone,personal digital assistant or the like, a wireless device such as atablet computer or the like, an electronic gaming terminal, a generalpurpose computer, a computing device and/or a controller. A gamingsystem that is constructed to implement a gaming application inaccordance with embodiments of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 3.In the gaming system 300, a processing device or processor 304 iscoupled to a memory 306 by a bus 328. The processor 304 is also coupledto processor-readable storage media, such as a storage device 308 thatstores processor-executable instructions 312 and data 310 through thesystem bus 328 to an I/O bus 326 through a storage controller 318. Theprocessor 304 is also coupled to one or more interfaces that can be usedto connect the processor to other processing apparatuses, such as agaming system for providing an online sportsbook for example, as well asnetworks as described herein. The processor 304 is also coupled via thebus to user input devices 314, such as tactile devices including, butnot limited to, keyboards, keypads, foot pads, touch screens, and/ortrackballs; as well as non-contact devices such as audio input devices,motion sensors and motion capture devices that the gaming system of theinvention can use to receive inputs from a user when the user interactswith the gaming system and creates interaction data. The processor 304is connected to these user input devices 314 through the system bus 328,to the I/O bus 326 and through the input controller 320. The processor304 is also coupled via the bus to user output devices 316 such as (butnot limited to) visual output devices, audio output devices, and/ortactile output devices that the gaming system uses to generate outputsperceivable by the user when the user interacts with the gamingapplication. In accordance with some embodiments, the processor iscoupled to visual output devices such as (but not limited to) displayscreens, light panels, and/or lighted displays. In accordance withparticular embodiments, the processor is coupled to audio output devicessuch as (but not limited to) speakers, and/or sound amplifiers. Theprocessor 304 is connected to output devices from the system bus 328 tothe I/O bus 326 and through the output controller 322. The processor 304can also be connected to a communications interface 302 from the systembus 328 to the I/O bus 326 through a communications controller 324.

In accordance with various embodiments, a processor 304 can loadinstructions, algorithms and data from the storage device into thememory 306. The processor 304 can also execute instructions that operateon the data to implement various aspects and features of the componentsof a gaming application as discussed above. The processor 304 canutilize various input and output devices in accordance with theinstructions and the data in order to create and operate user interfacesfor players or gaming operators of a gaming application of theinvention.

Although the processing apparatus 300 is described herein as beingconstructed from a processor and instructions stored and executed byhardware components, the gaming system can be composed of only hardwarecomponents in accordance with other embodiments. In addition, althoughthe storage device is described as being coupled to the processorthrough a bus, those skilled in the art will understand that the storagedevice can include removable media such as, but not limited to, a USBmemory device, an optical CD ROM, magnetic media such as tape and disks.Also, the storage device can be accessed by processor 304 through one ofthe interfaces or over a network. Furthermore, any of the user inputdevices or user output devices can be coupled to the processor 304 viaone of the interfaces or over a network. In addition, although a singleprocessor 304 is described, those skilled in the art will understandthat the processor 304 can be a controller or other computing device ora separate computer as well as be composed of multiple processors orcomputing devices including one or more processors.

Some portions of the disclosure are presented in terms of algorithms(e.g., as represented in flowcharts, prose descriptions, or both) andsymbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computermemory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the meansused by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectivelyconvey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Analgorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistentsequence of steps (instructions) leading to a desired result. The stepsare those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form ofelectrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It isconvenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to referto these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms,numbers, or the like. Furthermore, it is also convenient at times torefer to certain arrangements of steps requiring physical manipulationsor transformation of physical quantities or representations of physicalquantities as modules or code devices, without loss of generality.However, all of these and similar terms are to be associated with theappropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels appliedto these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparentfrom the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout thedescription, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,”“computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “displaying,” “determining,”or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, orsimilar electronic computing device (such as a specific computingmachine), that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical(electronic) quantities within the computer system memories or registersor other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

Certain aspects of the embodiments include process steps andinstructions described herein in the form of an algorithm. It should benoted that the process steps and instructions of the embodiments can beembodied in software, firmware, or hardware, and when embodied insoftware, could be downloaded to reside on and be operated fromdifferent platforms used by a variety of operating systems. Theembodiments can also be in a computer program product, which can beexecuted on a computing system.

Some embodiments also relate to an apparatus for performing theoperations herein. Such an apparatus may be specially constructed forthe purposes, e.g., a specific computer, or it may comprise ageneral-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by acomputer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may bestored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as, but is notlimited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks,CD-ROMs, magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), randomaccess memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards,application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any type of mediasuitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to acomputer system bus. Memory can include any of the above and/or otherdevices that can store information/data/programs and can be a transientor non-transient medium, where a non-transient or non-transitory mediumcan include memory/storage that stores information for more than aminimal duration. Furthermore, the computers referred to in thespecification may include a single processor or may be architecturesemploying multiple processor designs for increased computing capability.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purposesystems may also be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatus to perform the method steps. The structure for a variety ofthese systems will appear from the description herein. In addition, theembodiments are not described with reference to any particularprogramming language. It will be appreciated that a variety ofprogramming languages may be used to implement the teachings of theembodiments as described herein, and any references herein to specificlanguages are provided for the purposes of enablement and best mode.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the types of software andhardware used are not vital to the full implementation of the methods ofthe invention. The order of execution or performance of the operationsin the embodiments of the invention illustrated and described herein isnot essential, unless otherwise specified. That is, the operationsdescribed herein may be performed in any order, unless otherwisespecified, and embodiments of the invention may include additional orfewer operations than those disclosed herein. For example, it iscontemplated that executing or performing a particular operation before,contemporaneously with, or after another operation is within the scopeof aspects of the invention.

While exemplary systems and methods, and applications of methods of theinvention, have been described herein, it should also be understood thatthe foregoing is only illustrative of a few particular embodiments withexemplary and/or preferred features, as well as principles of theinvention, and that various modifications can be made by those skilledin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.Additional information regarding exemplary embodiments of the inventionis provided below.

Computer Program

In some embodiments, the methods, systems, and media disclosed hereininclude at least one computer program, or use of the same. A computerprogram includes a sequence of instructions, executable in the digitalprocessing device's CPU, written to perform a specified task. Computerreadable instructions may be implemented as program modules, such asfunctions, objects, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), datastructures, and the like, that perform particular tasks or implementparticular abstract data types. In light of the disclosure providedherein, those of skill in the art will recognize that a computer programmay be written in various versions of various languages.

The functionality of the computer readable instructions may be combinedor distributed as desired in various environments. In some embodiments,a computer program comprises one sequence of instructions. In someembodiments, a computer program comprises a plurality of sequences ofinstructions. In some embodiments, a computer program is provided fromone location. In other embodiments, a computer program is provided froma plurality of locations. In various embodiments, a computer programincludes one or more software modules. In various embodiments, acomputer program includes, in part or in whole, one or more webapplications, one or more mobile applications, one or more standaloneapplications, one or more web browser plug-ins, extensions, add-ins, oradd-ons, or combinations thereof.

Web Application

In some embodiments, a computer program includes a web application. Inlight of the disclosure provided herein, those of skill in the art willrecognize that a web application, in various embodiments, utilizes oneor more software frameworks and one or more database systems. In someembodiments, a web application is created upon a software framework suchas Microsoft® .NET or Ruby on Rails (RoR). In some embodiments, a webapplication utilizes one or more database systems including, by way ofnon-limiting examples, relational, non-relational, object oriented,associative, and XML database systems. In further embodiments, suitablerelational database systems include, by way of non-limiting examples,Microsoft® SQL Server, mySQL™, and Oracle®. Those of skill in the artwill also recognize that a web application, in various embodiments, iswritten in one or more versions of one or more languages. A webapplication may be written in one or more markup languages, presentationdefinition languages, client-side scripting languages, server-sidecoding languages, database query languages, or combinations thereof. Insome embodiments, a web application is written to some extent in amarkup language such as Hypertext Markup Language (H™L), ExtensibleHypertext Markup Language (XH™L), or eXtensible Markup Language (XML).In some embodiments, a web application is written to some extent in apresentation definition language such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).In some embodiments, a web application is written to some extent in aclient-side scripting language such as Asynchronous Javascript and XML(AJAX),Flash® Actionscript, Javascript, or Silverlight®. In someembodiments, a web application is written to some extent in aserver-side coding language such as Active Server Pages (ASP),ColdFusion®, Perl, Java™, JavaServer Pages (JSP), Hypertext Preprocessor(PHP), Python™, Ruby, Tcl, Smalltalk, WebDNA®, or Groovy. In someembodiments, a web application is written to some extent in a databasequery language such as Structured Query Language (SQL). In someembodiments, a web application integrates enterprise server productssuch as IBM® Lotus Domino®. In some embodiments, a web applicationincludes a media player element. In various further embodiments, a mediaplayer element utilizes one or more of many suitable multimediatechnologies including, by way of non-limiting examples, Adobe® Flash®,HTML 5, Apple® QuickTime®, Microsoft® Silverlight®, Java™, and Unity®.

Mobile Application

In some embodiments, a computer program includes a mobile applicationprovided to a mobile digital processing device. In some embodiments, themobile application is provided to a mobile digital processing device atthe time it is manufactured. In other embodiments, the mobileapplication is provided to a mobile digital processing device via thecomputer network described herein.

In view of the disclosure provided herein, a mobile application iscreated by techniques known to those of skill in the art using hardware,languages, and development environments known to the art. Those of skillin the art will recognize that mobile applications are written inseveral languages. Suitable programming languages include, by way ofnon-limiting examples, C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Java™, Javascript,Pascal, Object Pascal, Python™, Ruby, VB.NET, WML, and XH™L/HTML with orwithout CSS, or combinations thereof.

Suitable mobile application development environments are available fromseveral sources. Commercially available development environmentsinclude, by way of non-limiting examples, AirplaySDK, alcheMo,Appcelerator®, Celsius, Bedrock, Flash Lite, .NET Compact Framework,Rhomobile, and WorkLight Mobile Platform. Other development environmentsare available without cost including, by way of non-limiting examples,Lazarus, MobiFlex, MoSync, and Phonegap. Also, mobile devicemanufacturers distribute software developer kits including, by way ofnon-limiting examples, iPhone and iPad (iOS) SDK, Android™ SDK,BlackBerry® SDK, BREW SDK, Palm® OS SDK, Symbian SDK, webOS SDK, andWindows® Mobile SDK.

Those of skill in the art will recognize that several commercial forumsare available for distribution of mobile applications including, by wayof non-limiting examples, Apple® App Store, Android™ Market, BlackBerry®App World, App Store for Palm devices, App Catalog for webOS, Windows®Marketplace for Mobile, Ovi Store for Nokia® devices, Samsung® Apps, andNintendo® DSi Shop.

Standalone Application

In some embodiments, a computer program includes a standaloneapplication, which is a program that is run as an independent computerprocess, not an add-on to an existing process, e.g., not a plug-in.Those of skill in the art will recognize that standalone applicationsare often compiled. A compiler is a computer program(s) that transformssource code written in a programming language into binary object codesuch as assembly language or machine code. Suitable compiled programminglanguages include, by way of non-limiting examples, C, C++, Objective-C,COBOL, Delphi, Eiffel, Java™, Lisp, Python™, Visual Basic, and VB .NET,or combinations thereof. Compilation is often performed, at least inpart, to create an executable program. In some embodiments, a computerprogram includes one or more executable complied applications.

Software Modules

In some embodiments, the methods, systems, and media disclosed hereininclude software, server, and/or database modules, or use of the same.In view of the disclosure provided herein, software modules are createdby techniques known to those of skill in the art using machines,software, and languages known to the art. The software modules disclosedherein are implemented in a multitude of ways. In various embodiments, asoftware module comprises a file, a section of code, a programmingobject, a programming structure, or combinations thereof. In furthervarious embodiments, a software module comprises a plurality of files, aplurality of sections of code, a plurality of programming objects, aplurality of programming structures, or combinations thereof. In variousembodiments, the one or more software modules comprise, by way ofnon-limiting examples, a web application, a mobile application, and astandalone application. In some embodiments, software modules are in onecomputer program or application. In other embodiments, software modulesare in more than one computer program or application. In someembodiments, software modules are hosted on one machine. In otherembodiments, software modules are hosted on more than one machine. Infurther embodiments, software modules are hosted on cloud computingplatforms. In some embodiments, software modules are hosted on one ormore machines in one location. In other embodiments, software modulesare hosted on one or more machines in more than one location.

Databases

In some embodiments, the methods, systems, and media disclosed hereininclude one or more databases, or use of the same. In view of thedisclosure provided herein, those of skill in the art will recognizethat many databases are suitable for storage and retrieval of player andgame information. In various embodiments, suitable databases include, byway of non-limiting examples, relational databases, non-relationaldatabases, object oriented databases, object databases,entity-relationship model databases, associative databases, and XMLdatabases. In some embodiments, a database is internet-based. In furtherembodiments, a database is web-based.

In still further embodiments, a database is cloud computing-based. Inother embodiments, a database is based on one or more local computerstorage devices.

General Information Relating to Various Embodiments of the Invention

A controller, computing device, or computer, such as described herein,may include at least one or more processors or processing units and asystem memory. The controller typically also includes at least some formof computer readable media. By way of example and not limitation,computer readable media may include computer storage media andcommunication media. Computer storage media may include volatile andnonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any methodor technology that enables storage of information, such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.Communication media typically embody computer readable instructions,data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includeany information delivery media. Those skilled in the art should befamiliar with the modulated data signal, which has one or more of itscharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. Combinations of any of the above are also included withinthe scope of computer readable media.

In some embodiments, a controller may include a processor, which asdescribed herein, includes any programmable system including systems andmicrocontrollers, reduced instruction set circuits (RISC), applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmable logic circuits (PLC),and any other circuit or processor capable of executing the functionsdescribed herein. The above examples are exemplary only, and thus arenot intended to limit in any way the definition and/or meaning of theterm processor.

The order of execution or performance of the operations in theembodiments of the invention illustrated and described herein is notessential, unless otherwise specified. That is, the operations describedherein may be performed in any order, unless otherwise specified, andembodiments of the invention may include additional or fewer operationsthan those disclosed herein. For example, it is contemplated thatexecuting or performing a particular operation before, contemporaneouslywith, or after another operation is within the scope of aspects of theinvention.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention andalso to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention,including making and using any devices or systems and performing anyincorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is definedby the claims, and may include other examples that occur to thoseskilled in the art. Other aspects and features of the invention can beobtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appendedclaims. The invention may be practiced otherwise than as specificallydescribed within the scope of the appended claims. It should also benoted, that the steps and/or functions listed within the appendedclaims, notwithstanding the order of which steps and/or functions arelisted therein, are not limited to any specific order of operation.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the systems andmethods described herein may be a standalone system, gaming device,gaming machine or incorporated in an existing gaming system or machine.The gaming system of the invention may include various computer andnetwork related software and hardware, such as programs, operatingsystems, memory storage devices, data input/output devices, dataprocessors, servers with links to data communication systems, wirelessor otherwise, and data transceiving terminals. It should also beunderstood that any method steps discussed herein, such as for example,steps involving the receiving or displaying of data, may further includeor involve the transmission, receipt and processing of data throughconventional hardware and/or software technology to effectuate the stepsas described herein. Those skilled in the art will further appreciatethat the precise types of software and hardware used are not vital tothe full implementation of the methods of the invention so long asplayers and operators thereof are provided with useful access thereto,either through a mobile device, gaming platform, or other computingplatform via a local network or global telecommunication network.

Although specific features of various embodiments of the invention maybe shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenienceonly. In accordance with the principles of the invention, any feature ofa drawing may be referenced and/or claimed in combination with anyfeature of any other drawing.

While exemplary apparatus, systems and methods of the invention havebeen described herein, it should also be understood that the foregoingis only illustrative of a few particular embodiments with exemplaryand/or preferred features, as well as principles of the invention, andthat various modifications can be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore,the described embodiments should not be considered as limiting of thescope of the invention in any way. Accordingly, the invention embracesalternatives, modifications and variations which fall within the spiritand scope of the invention as set forth by the claims and anyequivalents thereto.

1. A gaming system, comprising: at least one processor; at least oneinput device; and at least one memory device that stores a plurality ofinstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe at least one processor to operate with the at least one displaydevice and the plurality of input devices to: a) receive userinteraction data associated with a fantasy gaming contest, the userinteraction data included one or more selections for a fantasy team,wherein each of the one or more selections for a fantasy team includes aselection of a player performing as a member of a sports team in asporting event; c) responsive to the receipt of user interaction data,compare the interaction data with sportsbook wagering options, thesportsbook wagering options including proposition wagers, wherein theproposition wagers have outcomes depending on player and sports teamperformance in sporting events; d) identify one or more propositionwagers involving a selected player or the sports team the player is amember of for display on the display device; e) display on the displaydevice the identified one or more proposition wagers; and f) generate asingle electronic betting slip for both the fantasy gaming contest andselected sportsbook wagering options responsive to the receipt of aselection of one of the one or more proposition wagers.
 2. A gamingsystem, comprising: at least one processor; at least one input device;and at least one memory device that stores a plurality of instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at leastone processor to operate with the at least one display device and theplurality of input devices to: a) establish a user account with a creditbalance; b) receive user interaction data associated with a fantasygaming contest, the user interaction data included one or moreselections for a fantasy team, wherein each of the one or moreselections for a fantasy team includes a selection of a playerperforming as a member of a sports team in a sporting event; c)responsive to the receipt of user interaction data, compare theinteraction data with sportsbook wagering options, the sportsbookwagering options including proposition wagers, wherein the propositionwagers have outcomes depending on player and sports team performance insporting events; d) identify one or more proposition wagers involving aselected player or the sports team the player is a member of for displayon the display device; e) display on the display device the identifiedone or more proposition wagers; f) deduct an amount of credit from auser account responsive to the receipt of a selection of one of the oneor more proposition wagers; and g) award an amount of credit to the useraccount responsive to a winning outcome from the one or more propositionwagers.